Brandon Grittinihttp://www.brandongrittini.com
High Performance Profit Maximizer and business strategy consultantSun, 01 Apr 2018 16:06:59 +0000enhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.8http://www.brandongrittini.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/cropped-IMG_2126-1-32x32.jpgBrandon Grittinihttp://www.brandongrittini.com
3232Building Your Personal Brandhttp://www.brandongrittini.com/key-opinion-leader/building-your-personal-brand/
http://www.brandongrittini.com/key-opinion-leader/building-your-personal-brand/#respondSun, 01 Apr 2018 16:06:59 +0000http://www.brandongrittini.com/?p=152I’ve made a decision to really work on building my personal brand and becoming a key opinion leader. Since I’ve recently started this, people close to me are seeing more activity on my social profiles, and are asking me why.

I believe that each of us is a brand; and since that’s my belief, I want to make sure mine stands out in the most positive ways possible. I want to help others in their personal and business journeys, and I have a lot of experiences t hat I can share.

Pushing your brand message out across multiple mediums will help you reach a new audience. Once you have the attention of the audience, you can deliver consistent value to them.

You never know the exact moment this will come in handy, but you can be sure that if you wait until you need it, you’re already too late. For me, I’m laying a foundation, and then building on it.

I get questions from people that are unemployed and I think to myself, had they been building their personal brand over the last year, they may not be in their predicament. I get questions from students in college that should begin making an impact building their personal brand to set them apart from the stiff competition they’ll soon face. I get questions from sales people and I think that if they were building their personal brand they would attract more clients rather than trying to shove canned messages down a prospects throat whether they want it or not.

Building a brand is nothing more than delivering value to a specific audience. Not everyone will like my message, and that’s okay. It probably just wasn’t meant for them.

Today, rather than focus on Blockchain technology and explain why Bitcoin and other digital currencies work, I want to focus on the group of people that are throwing money they don’t have into exchanges.

1) Don’t Invest With Your Credit Card

Unlike a normal stock exchange, some crypto-currency exchanges allow you to make a deposit using a credit card…and this is BAD NEWS!!

If you’re using a credit card to invest in crypto, you probably don’t understand much about investing, let alone the carrying cost of your investment. This was recently brought to my attention that this is happening, and quite frankly, it’s very scary. This is the type of thing that could cripple the world economy, and force so many people into bankruptcy.

Digital currencies are new, volatile, and untested! There is no long term history of investing. This is one of the most risky types of investments we have ever seen. If you’re not willing to throw away the money you’re investing, then please don’t invest!

And if you’re using your credit card to invest in Bitcoin and other Crypto-Currencies, you very likely can’t afford to throw that money away.

When I started hearing people tell me that they were using credit cards to invest in crypto, I felt that I had to educate and be a voice of reason. I had to get them to stop. So let me take a few sentences and try and explain this.

If you invest $1,000 in Bitcoin on your credit card, you don’t actually get $1,000 worth. The exchange takes a fee to process the transaction. It’s usually 3% to 5%. For our sake, let’s go with the lesser and say 3%. So when you invest $1,000 you only actually get $970. In fact, when the crypto goes up 3%, you’ve only broken even.

On top of that, you have interest on your credit card. For people investing using their credit card, let’s assume they have a high interest rate card, and carry a 25% per month credit card interest rate.

Since most of these “investors” are not cashing out their coins, and even if they do, they aren’t paying their credit card off, we need to add in the credit card expense. At $1,000 and 25%, this is $250 in the first month. So after 30 days, their $1,000 investment has now cost them $250 + $30 for a total of $280. If bitcoin went up 25% in 30 days, the “investor” would have lost 3%.

But then month 2 happens. And you have another 25% interest expense due on your card for borrowing that $1,000. Except that if you add the $1,000 plus last months interest of $250, you actually owe 25% on $1,250 this month, or $312.50 more in interest. So now, after 60 days, your $1,000 “investment” has cost you $250 + $30 + $312.50 for a total of $592.50!!!

So if Bitcoin went up 50% in 2 months, you would have lost $107.50!!

And then there is month 3. Where your interest compounds yet again. And you really need Bitcoin to triple in value to “make money”.

I keep hearing people who say they made “X” on Bitcoin investing. And then I find out they used their credit card and are carrying an interest expense. These people have no clue that they are very likely losing money. Money that if by some reason Bitcoin crashes, maybe because of futures investing, they still owe their credit card company. It’s very sad.

2)Don’t Mortgage Your House

What’s more sad than using your credit card s that I’ve now heard that roughly 4% of crypto investors are using their homes to buy in. That is, they are taking Home Equity Lines of Credit or refinancing to invest in crypto.

Again, please don’t do this!

If Bitcoin crashes, and I do believe we will see a large dip in 2018, these people could end up homeless! That’s a hell of a risk to take, one I couldn’t take, and one I certainly wouldn’t recommend.

Here’s the thing, people…

You should always understand what you are investing in before you ever invest. You have to do due diligence. And you also shouldn’t invest money you don’t have, or “mortgage your family’s future” on risky investments.

I really believe this could be the cause of the next collapse of our economy.

Futures are now being traded for Bitcoin. And the estimate is that 1,000 people own 40% of the Bitcoin in circulation. Either of these 2 stats tell us that a crash could come soon, as long as people want it to.

Why?

Let’s say you own a large hunk of Bitcoin. The price has skyrocketed and you’ve made a lot of money! And now, un-savvy “investors” have come in (and created a bubble). You know have the chance to short the stock, betting on the down, and winning if it does. You can profit by it going down. You can also create a massive sell off to ensure this happens. Bitcoin prices could drop dramatically. But you’re the seller, so you’re out! You win!

Who is left holding the losses? The investor that had know clue what he/she was doing. The price drops considerably, and they lose money they never really had. The best they can do is sell now at a massive loss to retain some of their money.

And who do they sell it to? The same guy that sold it to them. Only after he sold at the top and won big, he’s now buying back at the bottom and will win big again.

But that poor little investor that had no business investing is broke. He’s lost his money, he can’t pay his credit card, and the bankers are now coming after his home. This is happening to thousands and thousands of people, and it can cripple our economy.

Bottom Line:

If you’re not willing to literally set fire to the money you want to invest in Bitcoin, then you have no business investing in Bitcoin. You can’t lose what you don’t put in.

]]>http://www.brandongrittini.com/build-your-nest-egg/2-dangerous-mistakes-you-can-make-investing-in-bitcoin/feed/0A Bitcoin Update to Start Decemberhttp://www.brandongrittini.com/build-your-nest-egg/a-bitcoin-update-to-start-december/
http://www.brandongrittini.com/build-your-nest-egg/a-bitcoin-update-to-start-december/#respondSun, 03 Dec 2017 16:04:50 +0000http://www.brandongrittini.com/?p=136A week ago, we came off of the US Thanksgiving holiday. At that time, I wrote about the user base of Coinboise, one of the main exchanges for Bitcoin, had increased by 100,000 users and Bitcoin had jumped over $1,000 per coin to over $9,400.

It’s always interesting to get feedback from the naysayers. Some say get out, it’s in a bubble. Maybe. Maybe not.

I believe that this is the first set of change we are seeing to currency since we moved to paper dollars. And none of us know the discussions that were going on then, but maybe they were pretty skeptical of that working out. Maybe they thought it didn’t make sense to stop trading silver and gold.

Today, I ask, do you really have faith in governments, domestic and abroad? To reject the use cases that digital currency is bringing doesn’t make sense to me. Why would you continue to put so much faith into fiat currency, where when governments want and need more money, they print it! What does that do to the value of your dollar?

Since I publicly announced that I do invest in Bitcoin and many other Alternative Coins, I’ve heard people from both sides. Most just don’t understand it, and refuse to learn about it. Others are open minded and have questions. To my surprise, many have come to me to ask for thoughts and advice, and I’ve been more than willing to share.

December Update:

Last week, I announced Bitcoin was at $9,400 and that I thought it would break $10,000 per coin by the end of the year, if not the end of November. There was some very rocky volitality in the first few days of the week, and the naysayers came out strong! However, a week after my last update, Bitcoin is currently trading at $11,768, or up 22% in the last 7 days. To date, the naysayers continue to be wrong, and they continue to miss out!

The list below shows what you would have made if you invested a specific dollar amount a week ago. The left column is what you would have invested, the right is what it would be worth right now. I’ll use smaller numbers since most of us can’t invest large numbers like you see in other posts:

$20 –> $24.40

$50–> $61

$100 –> $122

$500–>$610

$1,000–>$1,220

$2,500 –> $3,050

Think about where you would have landed on the spectrum. You’d definitely be better off today than 1 week ago. And a common questions seems to still be around how much you have to invest. You don’t have to invest in a full coin, which means you don’t have to have $11,768 to start. You can invest in partial or fractions of coins, so $20 will get you started.

And don’t forget the power of compound interest, which will play a huge roll in growing your nest egg!

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency platform, grew it’s users by 100,000 from Wednesday to Friday, coinciding with the US Thanksgiving holiday.

One can guess that many Thanksgiving dinner table discussion revolved around Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, and that the “how to buy bitcoin” discussions turned into a show and tell on the computer. In the same time the Coinbase users grew, Bitcoin jumped over $1,000 per coin to over $9,400

Expect this trend to continue as families gather through the Christmas and New Year’s holiday seasons, and see the massive gains in a short time. Bitcoin will likely reach $10,000 per coin by the end of the year, if not by the end of the month.

Many think you have to buy full coins and that is their barrier to entry. But you can buy fractions. You can make a $20 investment. You can schedule those investments daily, weekly or monthly.

I made my first Bitcoin purchase on August 8, 2017 at $3,370.06. In the 110 days since, it’s returned 180%

If you’re not investing in Cryptocurrencies, what is holding you back?

]]>http://www.brandongrittini.com/build-your-nest-egg/bitcoin-for-the-holidays/feed/0LinkedIn and the Little Green Dothttp://www.brandongrittini.com/business-strategy/linkedin-and-the-little-green-dot/
http://www.brandongrittini.com/business-strategy/linkedin-and-the-little-green-dot/#respondWed, 08 Nov 2017 02:33:31 +0000http://www.brandongrittini.com/?p=118For a long time, LinkedIn was nothing more than a place that you put your resume. It was where you went to go find a job or recruit an employee. But today, it’s much more than that. And while many people wave their hand at it, they’re missing a giant opportunity.

When Microsoft bought LinkedIn, they made some major changes. And today, you’ll find many of your prospects sitting on LinkedIn hoping you’ll reach out to them.

So if you’re ready to turn LinkedIn into “LinkedInstant” leads, than it’s time to update your profile. But if you’re not quite sure if people actually use LinkedIn, than pay attention to the newest feature added in November 2017.

THE LITTLE GREEN DOT

LinkedIn added a new feature that shows you who is currently using LinkedIn. If you scroll through your feed, you’ll see all of your connections and what they posted about or “liked”. But look at their picture. If they are actively using LinkedIn, you’ll notice a little green dot.The Little Green Dot shown above tells you if someone is currently on LinkedIn. This is a great time to reach out and connect with a prospect or get a conversation started.

Pro Tip: Don’t try and close a sale without ever trying to connect with someone first. It’s a lot like real life. You’ll just look like a jerk.

In addition, LinkedIn also lets you know if someone is connected using their mobile device. It’s similar to the green dot, but also has a white circle inside of it, as shown below:

LinkedIn is continuing to make great updates to the platform. It’s creating more user engagement and turning into a place to search for information to help you in your industry, a better place to find a job, and a good start to find ways to connect with people you otherwise wouldn’t have the chance to connect with.

If you’re looking to generate leads on LinkedIn, it’s starts with knowing what the platform can do, and how to use it the ‘right way’.

For more tips on using LinkedIn to your advantage, and setting up your profile to instantly generate leads, make sure you follow me on Linkedin!